Our Family Visit to York

11/05/2017

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Our Family Visit to York 11/05/2017

Having been away from the family for well over a week, our first Weekend together had to be magical! Walking along Hadrian’s wall I was amazed at the historical nature of the wall, Roman forts and the towns around because these were built when there wasn’t JCBs and large lorries. This was all done by hand. It makes you think that there’s so much of this country that we haven’t seen and yet people will go half way round the world to see what you can see on your back door.

Asking Mrs P what she would like to do, York was top of the list. Having visited as a child it was a place that I hadn’t been to as a tourist at all. Sounds like a plan.

Thanks to the power of Facebook, we managed to get a long list of suggested places to go, we packed up the car and headed down the M62!

Having driven around the city for a while we managed to find a space in Marygate Car Park and we were welcomed after walking a few yards with the most amazing gardens. We always tend to bring bird food with us and there’s always time for Dottie to feed the birds and smell the flowers 🙂

Dorothy loves feeding the birds and finally she’s managed to keep some sunglasses on for more than 2 minutes!

So our list of suggestions contained:

Jorvik Viking Centre

Shambles

Rail Museum

Lots of food and brewery establishments

We didn’t start until later than normal so arriving just after 12pm we prioritised. I love the show Vikings so Jorvik seemed great for me. There were lots of suggestions for going here and I couldn’t wait.

Having rocked up and seeing a massive queue, I can see there’s a fast track one and by the time I could say Viking Long Boat, Mrs P was online looking to see if we could book and skip the long wait.

What a genius, there was a booking in 20 minutes and after a coffee and treat in Carluccios we literally went straight to the front.

Not everyone hated the barriers though-

Having arrived in Jorvik I was shocked by the smell, but as someone quite easily said what do you think they used to make the walls and city. Good point.

There’s a taxi style ride in Jorvik that takes you through the city revealing history and specific stories based on discoveries and previous digs. There’s lots of history in this one place and buying a ticket to get in lasts you a whole 12 months. Not sure well be back soon but it’s amazing value for someone living local with inquisitive children.

Jorvik was fun, we brought some souvenirs and all that education and experience made us feel hungry! Time for some market food.

Having walked towards the shambles, we notice the artisan style markets with unique food stalls.

So many options to choose from I could have literally eaten the lot.

We decided on two style of wraps that we could share so a bit of Turkish and Jamaican! mmmm.

Dorothy even managed to pop into the market section and look fabulous!

Having visited the iconic Shambles as you can imagine there’s plenty of shops to entice Mrs P. She’s like a vintage loving magpie. I must admit the fudge and chocolate shops lining the streets were all too often and I had to be strong not to be sucked in with their sugary goodness.

Having watched a street performer for about 30 minutes the temperature started to drop as the wind picked up. It’s not for our next place to tick off, York Minster.

It was getting on in the day and time was short before hitting the M62. Closures meant we needed to be on it before 7pm. This gave us enough time to have a quick look, spend some time in awe and light a candle to remember loved ones no longer with us.

There always needs to be time to remember those no longer with us.

​​Having a jaunt around before heading to the car park we find a beautiful grounds where Dorothy practises her manic run and cuddles with Daddy and Mummy. Isn’t she progressing well.

Heading back to Wigan, we wanted to treat ourselves with someone different to eat. We headed back looking for signs of nice places and seeing the sign for Hebden Bridge, we decided that we should trust trip advisor and see what they could recommend.

With it being later on in the day and having Dorothy, a lot of places were turning in bars but we found Marco’s pizzaeria. Looking at the pictures it looks like a French workers café where it’s easy living and even easier eating. We weren’t wrong.

A nice relaxed atmosphere, pay when you leave, wine by the glass out of the house bottle and a great service with massive portions. A real find. Thank you trip advisor.

So this was our trip to York, it was a well deserved break after being away for so long. I was gutted that Beth was away that weekend but we do a lot together and she’ll be on the next one no doubt.

Summary

Event

​Family Visit to York

Location

​Jorvik,The Shambles,York,

Starting on

05/05/2017

Ending on

05/07/2017

Description

What an amazing day and what a beautiful city with loads of architecture and culture. With artisan food stalls and lots to do for all ages, it's highly recommended in my books. Even if it does smell.